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A44541
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A book of some of the sufferings and passages of Myles Halhead of Mount-Joy in Underbarrow in the county of Westmorland as also, concerning his labour and travel in the work of the Lord ...
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Halhead, Miles, 1613 or 14-1689 or 90.
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1690
(1690)
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Wing H285; ESTC R5882
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20,571
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26
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and Brethern I beseech you in the Bowels of dear and tender Love that you walk as dear Children faithful to him who hath called you with an honourable calling and loved you from the beginning with an Everlasting Love that all your Friends and Neighbours and Men of this World that see your Life coupled with fear may be made to confess and acknowledge to the Honour and Glory of the living Lord that the God whom ye serve and fear is the only true God of Israel and herein you become a pretious savour unto the living eternal God and sweet smelling savour unto all the Children of Light and no good thing will the Lord God withhold from you the Mouth of the Lord God of Hosts hath spoken it whose Promises are Yea and Amen to his own Seed for evermore Given forth the 14th day of the 6th Month 1655 when I was Prisoner at the Prison-House at the City of Exceter in the County of Devnoshire for the Testimony of Jesus and the Word of God Myles Halhead IN the year 1663 in the Reign of King Charles the second I was Summoned to appear at one of the Bishops Esclesiastical Courts before his Chancellor Doctor Cradict holden at Kendal and I was free in the Lord to go with many of my dear Friends and Brethren who were likewise Summoned to be their I waited in the Court obove three hours and at length I was called to give my answer why I came not to the Steeple-house to hear the Priests Then I desired the Court they would hear me and I would give them a plain answer in the fear of God and uprightness of my Heart and they promised me they would be quiet and still I told them I was about fifty years of Age and I had spent thirty of it in hearing the Priests and in all that time I had not profited by them but finding them preaching one thing one year and another year preaching quite the contrary therefore I cannot now hear them Then I said to the Doctor now I appeal to that of God in thee and to all moderate Men that hear me this day if I have not given thee a plain answer in the fear of the Lord to thy own Question He answered I had come as near him as any had done that day So this is recorded in the Bishop's Court against me That I went thirty years to the Church and in all that time I had not profited at all So I stand Excommunicated in the Bishop's Court. Again the Word of the Lord came unto me in the year 1667 in the fourth Month in the Reign of King Charles the second Saying Go thy ways into the City of Bristol and Glostershire and Wiltshire and Summersetshire Devonshire and Cornewall where thou hast been formerly and declared my Eternal Word amongst them and suffered hard and sore Imprisonments for my Name sake and speak to my own People my Sons and my Daughters whom I have called and chosen in this the Day of my Love out of the World and the barren Mountain thereof to serve me in Truth and in Righteousness all their dayes and bid them prepare themselves for I am coming to take account upon them all my Sons and my Daughters even from the greatest to the least of my Children and he whom I have given Ten Tallents shall count for Ten and he to whom I have given five Tallents shall count for five and be to whom I have given two shall count for two so every one both Man and Woman shall count for what he hath received So I command thee to go and speak to my own People whom I have chosen to serve me the Words that I shall give thee and though thou be weak and feeble of Body yet fear thou not for I will uphold thee in all thy weakness by my eternal Arm and Power and I will put my Word into thy Mouth what thou shalt say unto my chosen People my Sons and my Daughters whom I have called in this the Day of my Love and they shall receive thee as my Servant and confess and acknowledge that I have again sent thee in dear and tender Love and Fatherly Care unto them So I took my Horse and went to the City of Bristol and into those other Counties as the Lord had required and spoke to the Churches as I was moved and though I was but very weak of Body yet the Lord made his Promise good unto me in all my weakness Glory and Honour and Living eternal Praises be gvien to the Lord my God for ever of all the Children of Light And when I was about ten Miles off Plimouth I was brought before the chief Rulers in Devonshire and Cornewall and they asked me my Name and from whence I came I said out of the North. They asked me Out of what Country in the North And I said Westmorland Then they asked me What business I had in Devonshire I answered to see my old Friends whom formerly about ten Years since I had acquaintance with One of the Rulers answered I am a Devonshire man I pray you what are the Names of your Friends you had acquaintance with ten Years since in Devonshire I answered one Sr John Coplestone who was then High Sheriff of Devonshire and one John Page who was then the Mayor of Plimouth and one Justice Vowell who was then the Judge of the Sessions of the City of Exceter and one Colonel Buffit who was a Justice at that time Then one of the Rulers said Truly Gentlemen though this man call these men his Friends surely they have been his Persecutors Then another of the Rulers said Would you know how it is with these your old Friends No man in all Devonshire nor Cornwall can give you a more perfect nor truer Account than I can Your old Friend Sr. John Coplestone hath sold his Land and I know not where he may be found And as for your Friend John Page who was the Mayor of Plimouth he is become a broken Merchant and is fled out of his own Country and as I hear is gone for the Barbadoes And as for your Friend Justice Vowell he is gone to his long home And as for your old Friend Colonel Buffit he was committed to Prison at Bridge water in Summersetshire for high Treason and is stolen away from the Goaler and is quite gone and dare not be seen in his own Country And so Friend I have given you a true Account of your old Friends And truly Friend if these men were your Persecutors you may be sure that they will trouble you no more for if they that trouble you and persecute you have no better fortune than these men I wish that I nor none of my Friends may have any Hand in Persecuting of you So I took my leave of these moderate men and travelled to Cornewall Thus hath the Lord pleaded my Cause according to his Word and Promise who will give to every man a just Reward according to his Work Glory and Honour and living eternal Praises be given to the God of my Life for evermore who is the good Shepherd of my Soul who hath enabled me to do his Work and
a great River side where Vessels from Sea may come up near to the Town 's Bridge so the Priests and People being in great rage against us had concluded together that the Women in the Town should Stone us and as I was walking by the River side the Word of the Lord came unto me saying Put off thy Cloathes and wade the River and fear not for I will be with you both and bring you safe to Land So I told my Brother and straight way we put off our Cloathes and waded the River very safely and so we Journied further in Scotland till we came to the City of Edenborrow and Town of Leeth and there we staid about ten Dayes and spoke in the City and Town as we were moved of the Lord and I went to the Garrisons of the City and to the Town of and Leeth and to the Captains and Officers of the Army and spoke to them as the Lord had commanded me they were much struck down for that present and confessed that the Lord had been very good unto them So I cleared my Conscience of the Lord's Word unto them From thence we passed to Glasco and Sterlin and spoke as we were moved of the Lord so when we were free of that Nation we came for England again but in our Passage we were moved to come to Berwick upon Tweed and spoke the Word of the Lord in the Streets thereof and were taken up and carried before the Magistrates of the Town and they sent us to Prison but the Lord pleaded our cause and made us a burthen some Stone to our Persecutores so that in a few days we were released and came from thence through Northumberland to New-Castle and to Durham and spoke the Word of the Lord as we were moved and many received our Testimony so being freed and free of those places and People we came to our own Houses again and had great Peace with the Lord even more than I can speak or declare Again the Word of the Lord came unto me in the year 1654 in the 7th Month saying Take thy Horse and go into Northumberland into the Town of Berwick and speak to the Chief Magistrate of that Town the Words that shall give thee and fear not the Face of any Man for I will uphold thee with my right Hand in all thy Straits and Difficulties according to my Word and Promise So I took my Horse as I was commanded and went into Bishoprick and there I met with my dear Brother Robert Withers I told him what was upon me from the Lord and he was made by the Power of God willing to go with me and so we came to the Town of Berwick and I went to the Mayor of that Town and spoke to him in his own Shop as the Lord had commanded me Friend hear what the Servant of the Lord hath to say unto thee Give over the Persecuting of the Lord's Servants whom he doth send in Love to this Town of Berwick to shew you the way that leads to Life Eternal I charge thee O Man touch not the Lord 's Anointed nor do his Prophets no harm lest thou procure the Anger of the Living Eternal God against thee So he was sore moved and sent me to Prison and my dearly beloved Brother Robert Withers went with me to Prison and so we parted and he took my Horse and sent him Home So the Lord made me a burthen some Stone to that Town of Berwick for the space of ten Weeks or thereabouts and then I was brought to the Sessions and a Bill was drawn against me and read in open Court I answered and said I deny that Bill but what I said to the Mayor of this Town of Berwick I will not deny Then the Words came fresh in my mind I declared them openly in the Court Then the Recorder of the Town of Berwick stood up and said that I had confessed as much as was in the Bill so he said Sirs as I understand by his own Words if he cannot prove the Mayor of this Town a Prosecutor in my Judgment he hath wronged him Then I answered and said If the Mayor of this Town of Berwick dare say in the presence of the Lord whose presence is here that he is no Persecutor but the persecuting Nature is slain in him I will be willing to abide the Judgment of the Court The Clerk of the Court said Mr. Mayor if you will say that you are no Persecutor but the persecuting Nature is slain in you he is willing to abide the Judgment of the Court The Mayor answered and said I know not what to do I would I had never seen him I pray you let him go and let us be no more troubled with him Then I answered and said That I would prove this Mayor of Berwick the greatest Persecutor in Town or Country I was once committed to Prison in this Town before for speaking the Word of the Lord in the Streets by some of the Justices that are now in this Court but thou O Man hast exceeded them all thou hast committed me and kept me in close Prison for the space of ten Weeks or thereabouts for speaking to thy own Person in thy own Shop Now I make my appeal to the Recorder of this Town of Berwick as I am a Free-born English-man whether my Imprisonment be Legal according to the Law of this Nation or not Then the Recorder of the Town stood up and said It is not very Legal for any Minister of the Law to Imprison any man in his own Cause Then the Court cryed Take him away For the fear and dread of the Living God was upon them Then the chief Priest of the Town stood up and desired the Court that he might ask me one Question Then I answered and said The Lord knows thy Heart O man and at this present has revealed thy Thoughts to his Servant I know thy Heart thou high Priest and the Question thou wouldst ask me and if thou wilt promise me before the Court that if I tell thee the Question thou wouldst ask me wilt thou deal plainly with me and I will not only tell thee thy Query but I will answer it Then the Priest said That he would Then I answered and said thy Question is this Thou wouldst know whether I own that Christ that dyed at Jerusalem or not Then the Priest said Truly that is the Question Then according to my promise I will answer it before this Court In the Presence of the Lord God of Heaven I own no other Christ but the Christ which dyed at Jerusalem and made a good Confession before Pontious Pilate to be the Light and Way that leads fallen Man out of Sin and Evil up to God Eternal blessed for evermore So no more Questions were asked me but the Goaler was commanded to take me away and within a little time the Court gave order to release me so I returned to New-Castle and when